Perhaps the best change in kiwi cricket recently has been greater focus and intention around Aotearoa 'A' cricket, resulting in an abundance of A cricket for Aotearoa's second tier. The A gang recently got back from United Arab Emirates where they took on Pakistan A and they now welcome India A to Aotearoa, playing three longform games starting on Friday.

The A squad for these games has been named and it closely resembles the group that were in UAE, something that could be viewed as a bummer for domestic cricket. Obviously, we can't want more A cricket and then get the knickers in a twist when A cricket comes at the expense of domestic cricket. Priorities are simple and while I'd love to see more of these lads playing domestic cricket, their consistent absences are only deepening the pool of domestic cricketers as the clubs around Aotearoa need to fill their teams with new players.

Doug Bracewell has earned a call up and along with Seth Rance, they will lead what is now a standard Aotearoa A bowling attack; Kyle Jamieson, Lockie Ferguson, Blair Tickner, Logan van Beek, Scott Kuggeleijn. There will be tweaks to this group as Ferguson is only available for the last two games, coinciding with Kuggeleijn only playing game on.

Same goes for the wicket-keepers as Dane Cleaver will play game one, then Cameron Fletcher comes in for games two and three. Tim Seifert is also in the squad, meaning that there will constantly be two wicket-keepers in the group and we can expect to see the keepin' duties shared in various ways. Two selections tickle my fancy the most though; Rachin Ravindra and Theo van Woerkom.

Uploaded by Cricket on 2017-01-06.

Ravindra has been rewarded for his performances in UAE, where he finished as the leading run-scorer for Aotearoa across the two games. Yet to play a domestic game in Aotearoa, Ravindra hit two 50+ scores in 4inns, enough to put him ahead of Jeet Raval and Young who also played in both tour games. Only three Pakistanis scored more runs that Ravindra as well.

Having operated as the main spinner for Aotearoa A in UAE, Ravindra took 3w in 60.3 overs. That gave Ravindra an average of 81, however Ravindra was the only bowler to bowl 60 overs and the closest kiwi bowler to Ravindra's workload was Kuggeleijn who bowled 58.1ov.

Expecting an all-rounder who is yet to play any form of domestic cricket in Aotearoa, to dominate in UAE against Pakistan A with his spin bowling is absolutely bonkers. Hence, Ravindra only took 3w. This is all about Ravindra's progression though and the stars aligned for him to operate as the main spinner, effectively chucking Ravindra in the deep end of the pool and seeing if he could swim. Leading run-scorer and 60 overs of spin later, Ravindra returns to Aotearoa to take on a fairly stacked India A team.

Whether Ravindra gets the same usage or not, depends on the usage of van Woerkom. Unlike the batting an seam bowling groups where the next-best are in Aotearoa A, the Blackcaps have three spinners in UAE right now (Ish Sodhi, Ajaz Patel, Will Somerville). Mitchell Santner is there as well, although he's not playing and Todd Astle has returned to Aotearoa with a knee injury. That's five spinners who aren't up for A selection, opening the door for van Woerkom.

The lefty from Canterbury plays as their main spinner, however Cole McConchie's all-round abilities with his offies are more effective. McConchie has 8w in 35ov @ 19.62avg/4.48rpo for Canterbury in the Ford Trophy, while van Woerkom has 6w in 59ov @ 47.33avg/4.81rpo and having bowled 22ov in 1inns during the Plunket Shield, van Woerkom didn't take a wicket @ 2.36rpo.

Those are solid numbers and aren't exactly demanding A selection. Given the context though, van Woerkom must be viewed as someone with potential, aligning with his standing as the 6-9th ranked spinner in Aotearoa. Remember that Mark Craig appears to be injured as well, while someone like Otago's Michael Rippon may not yet be eligible for Aotearoa with his lefty-leggies as he is a Dutch international.

Of the younger spinners in Aotearoa at the moment, van Woerkom is joined by Central Districts Stags lefty Felix Murray as an option for A duties. Van Woerkom got the nod and as Ravindra has this bat/spin spot locked down in the A gang, guys like McConchie and Malcolm Nofal (another with possible eligibility stuff) aren't required.

Game one starts on Friday and other than the following this Ravindra narrative, I'm most intrigued by George Worker's performances as an opener, then Kyle Jamieson and Bracewell with the ball. Worker has a chance to strengthen his Blackcaps case after getting some ODI cricket, I'm always interested in Bracewell's contributions at this level after doing a sound job captaining the Stags and Jamieson's the most unique seamer in Aotearoa at the moment.

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Peace and love 27.